Dear Mom and Dad,
Things here are going great. We are working with a few new people and working hard trying to keep things rolling. We pushed back Ruby and Gezelle's baptismal date a week just to give them more time to prepare. Their dad and them both had some concerns so we are waiting another week. Our only other investigators didn't come to church and they haven't been reading so we may have to drop them. But we started teaching a couple new people this week. One is a 14 year old kid who is friends with a member. We tracted into him and gave him a pamphlet and told him if he read it and gave us a call we'd let him read in the Book of Mormon. He was really excited yesterday when we gave him a copy of the real book and said that he could keep the pamphlet too. One thing our mission is trying to focus on now is teaching people as soon as we meet them. We used to just invite them on church tours, but we are trying instead to teach while tracting. One Friday we tracted into a man named Charles. He started speaking to us in Kreyol as soon as he opened the door. When we asked how he knew we spoke kreyol he said "All Mormons speak Kreyol!" But we taught him right there. It was a pretty good lesson, but nothing spectacular. He told us that he was studying to be a catholic priest but decided to get married instead. So he knows a lot about religion and philosophy. I didn't think it would really go anywhere though when we tried to set up a return appointment and he had excuses. But yesterday he called us and said that he had read in the Book of Mormon and had read some interesting stuff and wanted to talk. So we'll see how that goes. We are going to see him tomorrow. We also are working with a few people who are pretty much members but aren't baptized. That includes Lunique and her boyfriend Therson. We are hoping to get them married and baptized. So there is lots of work to do here. Also we are helping the Tufts to get to know some members and also we are translating for them. The branch is doing ok. There were about 40 people there yesterday. Although no one comes on time and many people leave early. But its still doing great, and it's only going to do better. I hope that everything is going great at home. Take care and have a great week.
Love,
Elder Larson
February 22, 2010
February 15, 2010
Email of Feb. 15, 2010
I love the picture you sent me, you can't even see the mountain. This morning it was about 44 degrees. I'm just glad that my new car has a working heater. The weather hasn't been too bad. We mostly drive the car and when we're on bike I just wear a long sleeve shirt and I'm fine. We had a good Valentine's Day, we went to a Spanish members house and had a tamale eating contest. I didn't take last, but I only got 8. Elder de Hoyos got 16, one shy of tying the record. This week was pretty good. We spent quite a bit of time helping the Tufts get into the swing of things. We visited a few members and showed them where others live. We're still struggling with having very many people to teach. When I got down here they only had two investigators and we have dropped both of them already. But, we have started teaching a few other people and we have some other pretty good potentials. Two of them are children of a member in the branch. Their names are Ruby and Gezelle. They are 10 and 11. They're scheduled to be baptized on the 27th. Also, we are teaching a younger couple named Jhon and Lunise. They have two children under the age of two. They are doing pretty good. They came to church yesterday for the first time, although they missed sacrament meeting. Hopefully they enjoyed church. Also there is a former investigator that I taught last time I was down here who has apparently been coming to church the whole time I've been gone. The only thing that stopped her from being baptized is that she wasn't married to her boyfriend. But now he has started coming to church as well, so we are planning on working with them to see if we can get them married and baptized. So things are going well.
To answer your questions: My new companion is pretty cool. He likes little kid movies a lot. He comes from a pretty big family as well. That's pretty much Elder Whitaker. I still in the same district. We don't ever change districts. But the district is doing pretty good. We have had 4 baptisms so far this month with four more scheduled for the last week. Our goal was for ten but eight isn't too shabby. One of the things that we're focusing on is getting everyone to get 100 contacts a week. The branch does pretty good with taking care of us. The members didn't really like the last companionship though so we're trying to start that up again. It is usually one of two members who feed us. Sis Marc or Sis Fortuna. They are both awesome. But also the English ward treats us fairly well too. Yesterday we tracked into a member family and they gave us cookies. It was sweet. My weight is doing just fine, although I don't know if I've ever been this out of shape. I ran to the Spanish Elder's apartment last week which is only about a mile and a half away and it pretty much killed me. I haven't gone running since. I just bench during work-out time.
But everything is going great here. I hope that everything is going great for you too. Take care and I can't wait to hear from you next week.
To answer your questions: My new companion is pretty cool. He likes little kid movies a lot. He comes from a pretty big family as well. That's pretty much Elder Whitaker. I still in the same district. We don't ever change districts. But the district is doing pretty good. We have had 4 baptisms so far this month with four more scheduled for the last week. Our goal was for ten but eight isn't too shabby. One of the things that we're focusing on is getting everyone to get 100 contacts a week. The branch does pretty good with taking care of us. The members didn't really like the last companionship though so we're trying to start that up again. It is usually one of two members who feed us. Sis Marc or Sis Fortuna. They are both awesome. But also the English ward treats us fairly well too. Yesterday we tracked into a member family and they gave us cookies. It was sweet. My weight is doing just fine, although I don't know if I've ever been this out of shape. I ran to the Spanish Elder's apartment last week which is only about a mile and a half away and it pretty much killed me. I haven't gone running since. I just bench during work-out time.
But everything is going great here. I hope that everything is going great for you too. Take care and I can't wait to hear from you next week.
February 8, 2010
Email of Feb. 8, 2010
Dear Mom and Dad,
How is everyone doing? It's good to hear from you. Everything is going well down here. Transfers went well. I'm happy to be back in Naples. The branch all remembers me and is glad to have me back. There hasn't been very much going on down here lately, that's part of the reason I'm back here. I didn't think that I would make it back down here. We are just trying to get things rolling around here. The branch is struggling still. But we have a lot of support now. We just got a new senior couple on Thursday. Their name is the Tufts and they are from Soda Springs, Idaho. They will be a big help. Also, we have another senior couple from the English ward that is assigned to the branch, we also have another woman from that ward that is our relief society president. Our high councilor just got switched. It is now Bro. Cancel who used to be assigned to the Providence branch. So things are looking really good for the future. We are excited to see what we can do to help. We had a church tour on Saturday with a couple that the Spanish Elders tracked into. Their names are Jhon and Lunise. They really hit it off with the member that was their to help us. They committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Also, I found out yesterday that one of the members here just got custody of two of his kids and so we are excited to start teaching them. We are going to be doing a lot of finding and working with members to get them to come back to church. I'm also excited to teach the Tufts and Bro. Cancel some Kreyol. This week we have zone conference. It should be good. That is pretty much the happenings here in Florida. I hope that everything is going well at home. I love you and can't wait to hear from you next week.
Love,
Elder Larson
How is everyone doing? It's good to hear from you. Everything is going well down here. Transfers went well. I'm happy to be back in Naples. The branch all remembers me and is glad to have me back. There hasn't been very much going on down here lately, that's part of the reason I'm back here. I didn't think that I would make it back down here. We are just trying to get things rolling around here. The branch is struggling still. But we have a lot of support now. We just got a new senior couple on Thursday. Their name is the Tufts and they are from Soda Springs, Idaho. They will be a big help. Also, we have another senior couple from the English ward that is assigned to the branch, we also have another woman from that ward that is our relief society president. Our high councilor just got switched. It is now Bro. Cancel who used to be assigned to the Providence branch. So things are looking really good for the future. We are excited to see what we can do to help. We had a church tour on Saturday with a couple that the Spanish Elders tracked into. Their names are Jhon and Lunise. They really hit it off with the member that was their to help us. They committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Also, I found out yesterday that one of the members here just got custody of two of his kids and so we are excited to start teaching them. We are going to be doing a lot of finding and working with members to get them to come back to church. I'm also excited to teach the Tufts and Bro. Cancel some Kreyol. This week we have zone conference. It should be good. That is pretty much the happenings here in Florida. I hope that everything is going well at home. I love you and can't wait to hear from you next week.
Love,
Elder Larson
February 1, 2010
Email of Feb. 1, 2010
Dear Mom and Dad,
So first of all, we had transfers this weekend and I found out that I will be going down to Naples. It wasn't much of a surprise. It will be nice for a change, and I think the district overall will do better. There is a lot of work to do in Naples and I'm excited to see what we can accomplish. I will be serving with Elder Whitaker. He is from Yuba City California and has been out about 7 months.
This week was not the best. Our baptism got postponed a week, and our other two investigators who had a date lost them. One, because his mom is withholding permission. The other because he thinks he needs more time. So it wasn't the best week as far as work goes. But things can only go up from here.
Also, this weekend we had Stake conference. It was a regional conference for stakes in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The speakers were Elder Larry W. Gibbons, Sister Dalton, Elder Perry, and President Eyring. It was pretty good. I decided to watch it in Kreyol which was interesting. I understood everything but it just wasn't the same as if it were to be in English. I guess that just goes to show the importance of people hearing the gospel in their own language. I'm grateful for the chance I have to speak Kreyol.
I don't have too much to say, but I hope that everything is going well at home. I want you to know that I love you and pray for you. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Larson
So first of all, we had transfers this weekend and I found out that I will be going down to Naples. It wasn't much of a surprise. It will be nice for a change, and I think the district overall will do better. There is a lot of work to do in Naples and I'm excited to see what we can accomplish. I will be serving with Elder Whitaker. He is from Yuba City California and has been out about 7 months.
This week was not the best. Our baptism got postponed a week, and our other two investigators who had a date lost them. One, because his mom is withholding permission. The other because he thinks he needs more time. So it wasn't the best week as far as work goes. But things can only go up from here.
Also, this weekend we had Stake conference. It was a regional conference for stakes in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The speakers were Elder Larry W. Gibbons, Sister Dalton, Elder Perry, and President Eyring. It was pretty good. I decided to watch it in Kreyol which was interesting. I understood everything but it just wasn't the same as if it were to be in English. I guess that just goes to show the importance of people hearing the gospel in their own language. I'm grateful for the chance I have to speak Kreyol.
I don't have too much to say, but I hope that everything is going well at home. I want you to know that I love you and pray for you. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Larson
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